~0o Act II, Scene II o0~

(It is morning. Friar Frostbite is humming in his Franciscan cell, sorting through a basket of herbs he has picked in the garden, examining a sample of belladonna and monkshood. Sunlight is streaming through the window, and the ghostly snow monster is much engaged in his work. Suddenly, without warning, Vlad appears before his side.)

Vlad: Good morrow, Father.

(Friar Frostbite jumps, spilling his basket of herbs all over the table.)

Friar Frostbite: Good God, you have surprised me!

It is an early hour even for you.

You could not have risen more than an hour or so ago

Yet your eyes are bright and not dulled by sweet slumber

Nor by reluctance to meet the garish day. Under your eyes, shadows lie

Even as the sun rises in the East.

If I have hit it right

I will say you have not slumbered at all last night.

Vlad: You are correct-a sweeter adventure was mine.

(Friar Frostbite is staggered; and he considers throwing Vlad into a vat of holy water.)

Friar Frostbite: Good God! Was thou with Madeline?

Vlad: With Madeline, my good father? No

I have forgotten the name, and all its woe.

(Frostbite looks somewhat appeased)

Friar Frostbite: In that case, you are a good lad

But where were you then?

Vlad: I have feasted with my enemy

And been dealt grave injury

To my mind, to heart, which bore me lame

Unable to live or breathe quite the same.

Friar Frostbite: Please, cease to speak in riddles. I am adrift in confusion.

Vlad: Then I will give you direction again-

Plainly know my heart's dear love is set
On the fair son of rich Capulet:
Vlad As mine on his, so his is set on mine;
And all combined, save what thou must combine
By holy marriage: when and where and how
We met, we promised, and made exchange of vow,

And for your favor, I ask, I pray-

That you will come and marry us today.

Friar Frostbite: Egad! Holy saint! You shed tears over fair Madeline

Only to settle for her child-a human boy?

Vlad: Do you ask me to bury love?

Friar Frostbite: Only that you not bury yourself in a grave. Madeline was dangerous, Daniel Capulet is death. Could you have forgotten your old grief so easily?

Vlad: I pray thee, do not judge me. He whom I love now
Doth grace for grace and love for love allow;
The other did not so. I have forgotten her.

Friar Frostbite: You are mad; this is plain to see

And yet I will not see you in debauchery.

And this crossing of oaths may bring some end

To the rotten rivalry that consumes your households in fire.

If Daniel shall agree to take thine hand

Then summon him hence to my cell

Where, God forgive me, I shall bind you

In the holy ties of marital bliss.

But my son, do you intend to marry the boy

With or without my counsel?

Vlad: If you should not give us your blessing, I should be disturbed

And yet not deterred-

I will wander across the city until I find some good monk

Who will see to it that my love and I are wedded thus.

If cruel eyes and cold stares all we find

Daniel and I will say our vows in a free, empty land

Sovereigns of our own consciences.

Friar Frostbite: A human and a ghost,

The dead and the living!

A male and a male, oh, this is sodomy.

God must be weeping at this transgression.

Are ye quite sure Cupid's arrow doth

Not blind ye eyes? You were struck

With woe for love of Lady Madeline.

Can you really in earnest affection

Tell me that you love her son?

Vlad: I can, and I challenge anyone

To ask me thus.

Were I not to be struck down immediately

I would run to Lady and Lord Capulet

And beseech to marry their son.

My love for Madeline was but a frail

And yellowing demon with rolling eyes

Fixed purely on beauty-but Daniel is a rose

A blossom carved from an indestructible gem.

Beauty is in his eye, this is so, and in his form, but I love better

The tenderness in his hand and heart.

If I must cast away the name of Montague and till

The lands for many years till my riches became akin to the Capulets, I should do so.

But I fear that even then I will be denied the arms of my beloved

For I am a man and a walking shadow, and he is a man in flesh and vibrant pulse.

You, who pulled me out of the waters when I was but a babe-

Oh, good father, have pity on me!

Friar Frostbite: Peace, my son, I have told you

That I will commit a sin to keep your hands clean.

I do not believe God will loathe you dearly

For the sin of love, but the public eye

Would see you burned. If I should perform the marriage

All must be kept in silence; it would be better if

You two managed to bring peace to your families

If you acted as mere friends with each other. Word of marriage

Shall come later, when Capulet and Montague

Do not look daggers upon the other, and do not whet their tongues

In dreams of bloodshed. Our Good Master and Maria would find it obscene

To observe more civil hands becoming obscene.

Unsanctioned violence is the worst of crimes

Committed twice over too oft in these troubled times.

Go, my son, and send word to anxious Capulet. Send message as to when

You shall marry; spirit him away to the cathedral, where I will be ready at ten.

(Wild with joy, Vlad immediately phases out of the cell, and flies away in a great hurry. Sleepy birds in Spectral Verona are just beginning to wake, and are chirping softly near the old church.)

End of Act II, Scene II.

~0o Act II, Scene III o0~

(Speaking of birds, two emerald colored, red-eyed vultures clad in blue Montague tunics are in the rafters inside the old clock tower that rises proudly and powerfully before all Spectral Verona. The birds' names are Sampson and Balthasar, and they are loyal, albeit dim-witted servants to the House of Montague who cannot properly pronounce the letter 'w.' They have spent the night looking for Vlad, but to no success. Now, they are taking a rest and playing trifles, waiting for their brother to return with news.)

Balthasar: Dear Lady Ember vill be quite unhappy

If brother brings no news of young Montague. I fear that he

Vill not be successful; Master Vlad disappears

Into the trees more and more oft, pining for his

Hopeless love. Ve cannot let our lord now that ve

Know of his son's great secret. He vould

Tear out our feathers and ruin us! Vhy,

He might even take avay our hats.

Sampson: And so our silence shall be kept.

But I hope brother manages to find the young master

Else Lord Dan will be fretful. It is most unlikely, however.

Gregory's keen eyes are akin to those of a bat's

And twice as likely as some drunken sailor's

Are to alight upon a pretty maid.

Balthasar: You mean bird. His good friend Mercutio

The Ghostvriter confided in a fellow

Vhile I happened to be circling overhead.

His claim was that the two approached the Capulet ball

Like mischievous rascals, themselves masked

And Vlad became enchanted by some seducing beauty

Though Ghostvriter doth not know her identity.

(Throws down a card, sniffs)

Sampson: It is just as vell

That Master Montague had not stayed

At home last night. He doth need to get laid.

(Balthasar snickers and the birds turn their attention to their cards. Suddenly, with a wild squawk, a third green vulture dressed in blue rushes into the loft like a streaking arrow. Unfortunately, he's going much too fast to stop, so he knocks into his fellows and sends the startled vultures flying off their roost, and onto the dusty floor with a SPLAT.

(Cursing profoundly)

Balthasar: Aye, me!

You must have tumbled out of mother's nest

When you were but a hatchling, and landed on your head!

Fool ye are, to forget your brother's poor bones

Stay but a moment; I shall pelt you knave with stones.

Gregory: That shall have to vait! Master calls us, and ve must not delay.

(Sampson fussily straightens his tasseled blue bat, and casts his brother a frown.)

Sampson: Vhy should you fly in

Vith all the speed of lightning? It is true master rarely needs us

Because he is too busy roosting in melancholy.

But vhere is the falling tree? The storm?

Gregory: You shall not believe; I certainly do not! It is bewildering, maddening all at once-

Our master must have finally committed himself to insanity!

(Now curious, the two birds hop to their distressed brother on the wooden rafters, looking bewildered.)

Balthasar: Vhy, vhat is the matter with him? Must we call for

Our lord and lady, and have them administer unto their child gentle

And violent knocks upon the head till he is returned to his senses?

Gregory: Ve are to be messengers

Master came stumbling to me when I was exchanging

Courtesies with a lovely young owl-

(Snorting)

Sampson: Ye were chasing her, ye mean.

(Indignant)

Gregory: Contrary to your belief, smirking brother

I do not have to give chase to birds, nor do they

Take flight at the sight of me yonder! But O, never mind, never mind!

Master found me when I was in a tree-o, strange night!

I thought it a dream, but the scroll I have confirms otherwise.

(Extends a glowing scroll clamped in one taloned foot, stamped with the blue Montague crest. The others peer at it.)

Gregory: It seems master wants us

To deliver this scroll to a rouge-haired maiden

While she is in the marketplace today, looking for fine silks!

(Starts laughing)

Balthasar: A-HA!

So that is the meat of the matter!

Master has forgotten Lady Capulet

And found some maiden of a lower class.

Vell, this is good news ye bring

Though ve are not fit to be carrier pigeons

It means that he has gotten over his dangerous love

And this maiden too will soon be forgotten.

So, all be vell?

(Sighs, shakes head dreamily)

Sampson: Ah, for the life of a foolish man, vhose fancy

Doth fade like the moonflower

Before a glaring new dawning.

Gregory: I vish I had no more news to bring.

But gossip is, without any dispute

The most glorious thing to make us old birds sing

Such as when we discover a morbid, smelly bit of meaty fruit.

(Accusingly)

Balthasar: Vho art thou calling old, rogue?

Gregory: Master was smiling

As I had never seen him before.

But he was all business as he told me to come anon

And take the scroll he clutched in his hands

Like his firstborn. He told me to fly like the wind

To my brothers, and hurry to the marketplace

Vhere ve should lie in wait around the store

That sold pretty silken frocks for pretty ladies.

He told me a woman vould come to buy

Silks and scarves too small for her size.

She is but a maidservant-her plain garb tells all-

Yet she hands the merchant ample handfuls of gold.

He said that ve vere to find this simple voman

And give her this scroll, lest our necks be vrung.

And vait for her to give us a message to take back to him.

He took flight; nary could I take query him further

So I held up the scroll to dawn, and peeked

To see what urgency drives him; the vords I saw

Nearly made my stomach unclean, and dinner

Return to mine eyes. Vhat vords I saw!

Of love, and vows, and of a secreting meeting place

Oh, if his father should find out! But vait-that is not the vorst!

He speaks of marriage, from what I can make out!

The son of Montague vants to marry this simple human girl!

(His brothers nearly topple off the ledges again in shock. Sampson just shakes his head in awe.)

Sampson: So ve must not be pigeons, but Cupid's servant

Turtle doves? What madness is this?

At least it is not that Lady Capulet

Else the city vould be engulfed in flames. But o,

I pity our master, and recall our lord's wrath!

(The birds shudder in fear.)

Gregory: Such strange tidings

I bring to you. This girl

Is a servant of the Capulet boy!

At least, from what I have heard

I could not read very much

From the scroll, as it was sealed up

Very tight. If I were to peek anon

Master Vlad vould know and kindle

His vrath! But I have heard of the girl

Whose name is Jasmine.

Balthasar: I see, I see!

He means to bewitch poor Jasmine

And beseech her to hurt her master

For him. Genius, genius!

Our Master Lord and Lady vill be

Quite pleased to know that Daniel

Of Capulet hath been done away vith!

Jasmine will be lead to the gallows, and

Our master Vlad vill be free to ved

Whomever he chooses. He art a clever

And sneaking serpent.

Sampson: And if he truly loves

Jasmine, or if brother hath made

A mistake? What if he

Vants Jasmine to give the message

To someone else? Vhy,

Vhat if Madeline agreed to his proposal

And the two seek to run away?

Gregory: Then she is a bigamist. In

Either case, our master is cruel.

But he demands that ve obey his vishes.

I have seen him in his tower

Breathless and giddy with anticipation

He hath not slept; he frets, he strides

About his room in a frenzy.

Vhether his intentions are love

Or murder, ve must obey.

Lord Dan vill not know regardless, for

Our noble and intelligent beaks shall

Stay quite closed. If Vlad's intention be

Murder, we can be at peace. If love,

Then he shall disappear, and our Master

Dan Montague vill have no reason to

Suspect us of any vrongdoing. Ve are

Quite innocent. But I believe Vlad vhen

He says that he shall dispatch us like fowl

For a feast if ve do not avay.

Come, brothers! Let us head into town vithout delay.

(The birds fly out the window just as the morning bells begin to ring the hour.)

End of Act II, Scene III.

~o Act II, Scene IV o~

(We return to the Capulet gardens. Danny is again at his balcony, but he is pacing in a state of great agitation. Normally, Danny would be taking dueling lessons at this time, but he told his servants that today he feels sick. Nurse Jasmine went into town this morning after Danny confided in her what had truly transpired last night. The maid has not yet returned, and Danny is sorely tempted to simply meet Vlad himself in disguise.)

Danny: The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse;
In half an hour she promised to return.

But oh, she hath not returned, and it is fifteen to ten.
Perchance she cannot meet him: no, that is not so.

I refuse to believe. Love's heralds should be thoughts,
Which ten times faster glide than the sun's beams,
Driving back shadows over mountainous hills.
Vlad sent word this morning that she should be met by

Three birds-may they have been able to find her!

Perhaps I should don myself in dress and comb

And steal away into town-no one would notice my absence.

I-O God, she comes!

(Enter Jasmine, who is hurrying into Danny's rose gardens, clutching her skirts. Her face is pink and she's quite out of breath. Danny is so excited that he immediately jumps off the balcony, landing nimbly on two feet before he rushes over to her.)

Danny: O honey nurse, what news?
Hast thou met with his servants?

Nurse Jasmine: I have run like wind

To give you word; give me a minute!

(She doubles over gaspinh. Danny looks at her in concern, though he is burning with anticipation.)

Danny:Now, good, sweet nurse-O Lord, why doth thou look sad?

Shall I fetch you water or a footstool-

Dear friend, I thank you for remaining such a loyal

And good angel! Please give me your news

So that I can see to your comfort. Your salary

Will be doubled; tripled-please hurry.

(Still breathing heavily)

Nurse Jasmine:

I am a-weary, give me leave awhile:
Fie, how my bones ache! For your perfidy

I will suffer. O,

For your happiness, I should be glad to do a great many things

But run all over town leaves my bones ragged and heavy.

(Now ready to start shaking her out of frustration)

Danny: I would thou have my bones, and I thy news:
I pray thee, speak; good, good nurse, speak

And I shall leave you alone.

Nurse Jasmine: I will say this first-

Ye art a fool, for choosing him!

Why o why did you fall for the son

Of your father's mortal enemy? I still think

Perhaps that I am in a nightmare

But I do not wake. Ye would have done well

To stay by the side of Mistress Gray

Who would have accepted your infirmities with good grace.

I will however say that Vlad's face is better

Than any man's, yet he is gracious

You rarely see such traits combined. His feathery, squawking

Servants are not well-picked, but he left me a pouch

Of gold for my services. He seems as gentle as a lamb.

Be sinful if you will, foolish and endeavoring Capulet.

Are you free to do as you will today?

Danny: I am.

Nurse Jasmine: Then run you hence to Friar Frostbite's cell in guise;
There stays a husband to make you a….wife.

If that is indeed what you are-oh, look at you blush!
I am the drudge and toil in your delight,
But you shall bear the burden soon at night.
Go and get dressed, and seize a carriage-I shall tell

Your mother and father you are too ill to dine with

Them tonight. Return by dawn, for I fear that I

Shall not be able to protect your absence further than that.

(Danny seizes Jasmine in an embrace, climbs up his tower, and runs into his room. In two minutes time, what appears to be a beautiful girl in a light blue gown and a pearl-covered comb in her hair comes out. Danny leaps out into the gardens again, and starts sprinting towards the gates, shouting:)

Danny: O, Glory to high fortune! Honest nurse, farewell.

(Danny hails for a carriage, which rockets to the cathedral posthaste.)

End of Act II, Scene IV.

~o Act II, Scene V o~

(We have returned to the cathedral. Sampson, Balthasar, and Gregory are waiting at the top of the building, curiously eyeing a carriage racing towards it. It is dragged to a stop in front of the Monastery doors, and a young, petite figure steps out, dressed in a light blue gown, wearing white silk gloves, a comb that glitters with pearls, and a lace choker with a heart-shaped locket on it.)

Gregory: A boy, a boy! I do not believe

That lovely bride could be so.

Master is quite sick and depraved-

Should we not fly to Lord Dan, and

Have him stop this depravity?

(Sighing)

Sampson: O, vere that lady an actual lady…..

Balthasar: I do not think

Ve should do anything.

One look at the Capulet….girl,

And ve vould be called mad

Knaves for deeming her a boy.

Master IS a lunatic, this is so,

But vhat can ve do? Vlad vould

Melt avay in his despair.

And ve vould be cruel criminals.

Vhat can you do vith the young

Courageous, hopeful

And so very stupid in love?

(The birds sigh. Danny hurries into the cathedral just as the hour strikes ten. Frostbite and Vlad are waiting at the altar, talking.)

Friar Frostbite: So smile the heavens upon this holy act,
That after hours with sorrow chide us not!

Vlad: Amen, amen! but come what sorrow can,
It cannot countervail the exchange of joy
That one short minute gives me in her sight:
Do thou but close our hands with holy words,
Then love-devouring death do what he dare;
It is enough I may but call him mine.

(Warningly)

Friar Frostbite:

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite:
Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.

(Enter Danny, who has a bouquet of lilies and irises in his gloved hands. Frostbite takes one look at him and groans.)

Friar Frostbite: …..a boy?

Light as summer air and just as

Appealing and keen. The marriage

Will be done, as my master commands.

(Danny genuflects, takes Vlad's hand, and casts a gentle look in Frostbite's direction.)

Danny: Good day, even to my ghostly confessor.

Vlad: A day cannot bode ill

Should you be there in it.

Ah, sweet one, if the measure of thy joy
Be like mine, your heart must be singing.

(Places a dark hand on Danny's chest.) Ah! It is so!
Unfold the imagined happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter.

(Danny beams, and stands on his toes to give Vlad a kiss. They begin to make out, but Friar Frostbite irritably whacks Vlad on the head with his bible so as to separate the two.)

Friar Frostbite: Come, come with me, and we will make short work;
For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone
Till holy church incorporate two in one.

I trust neither of you; Vlad, have SOME restraint

For your soul's sake.

(Gingerly rubbing his head)

Vlad: Let us go in haste, for I suffer.

Friar Frostbite: Wisely and slowly; those who walk fast will stumble.

(They leave to marry.)

End of Act II, Scene V, End of Act II.